Ramzan’20 and COVID’19

The blessed month is here again to relieve us from slaveryof the playful mind and the infinite human desires. In the midst of thepandemic, Ramzan will be our best rope of mercy to hold on. This is the besttime to knock the doors of heaven for redemption.

We have shelved ourselves physically in a never ending quarantineapparently. The last couple of weeks have been like a decade. The efforts madeby the frontline soldiers deserve our sincere applaud. Doctors, and thehospital staff, Govt nodal officers, shop keepers, fruit sellers, vendors arerelentlessly trying to provide the required support during this hour of trial.We have seen that at times COVID-19 patients heal and the doctor dies. Thevirus seems obscure and its behaviour unpredictable. We can neither prevent thespread absolutely nor can we cure it out rightly at present. So precaution isthe only way out when the vaccine has not yet reached us.

   

The pandemic is spreading furiously and we need thisisolation. But Ramzan is a month that quarantines our heart and mind everyyear. This month of fasting rejuvenates us and purifies our corrupt shallowself. This yearly isolation has been done since ages. With less socialinteraction, no vain talk and quietly passing the day without complains wecertainly redeem our depreciated inner self. This time the holy month has comeas a rescue ship in the midst of a disaster. Leave the storm behind and climbonto this blessed celestial rescuer. It is time we refine our thoughts, correctthe numerous wrongs we do all day and resuscitate life back in order.Disciplining the mind and eliminating undue desires of heart are the hallmarkof this month. When the noises all around have naturally died down andeverything is arbitrarily stalled, it is the best time to listen to all thathas been missed in normal times. Remembrance of Almighty or zikr has beenpaling into insignificance for our generation. For some Pop Sufism is the newdefinition of being engrossed in love for divine. Music has taken away theessence and sheen of zikr and devotion. This time unplug yourself from thedevices on hands and contemplate. The distractions and noise of the city hasbeen iced hence best time for retrospection and some soul-searching.

Also do not miss to see or hear the sound of unknowntwittering birds at dawn, the ruffling of leaves, the gush of fresh air, thechanging shades of the day and the starry nights that appear spectacular. Lookslike the echoes of nature had died down in the busy noisy streets of the world.The COVID 19 lockdown is an opportunity to mend all that was left unattended inlife. The double benefit is while staying inside involved in devotion you earnthe reward for pious deeds and for not being the cause of spread of thepandemic outside. This kind of pandemic and disease is new to the human world.Nevertheless, we are well aware of the illnesses of the soul and the ensuinghuman misery. Humanity dies a little every year not by any pandemic but due tothe erosion and attrition of values. The practice of fasting refills our beingwith spiritual energy every year. This “spiritual self-actualization” month isthrust to bail you out throughout the year. It acts as a cure to growingdisease in the human heart that gets engulfed by the glittering world every nowand then. The outside distractions seem to have disappeared momentarily. Hence is the time when you lift your hands to pray but do remember the peopleaffected across the world irrespective of cast, creed or faith. The month ofRamzan is not a saviour of a single community. Make it a harbinger of mercy forthe entire human race.

We have termed this period a lockdown and quarantinebut the followers have found solace in this solitude. Those not so steadfast inprayer and irregular in worship too have felt an uneasiness in heart due to theclosure of masjids. When Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) built the holy Kaaba along withhis son, he prayed to Almighty to make it a place of worship for the entirecommunity. This prayer was accepted and consequently today millions throng atthis place in Mecca round the clock. This uninhabited desert turned to afountain of faith for the believers.  Intentions of heart are dearer tothe Supreme ultimately. Place is a mere coordinate on the land, whereas faithis the real compass in the journey of life. This time turn your homes intomasjids and places of prayer. Ultimately it is an individual effort to strivetowards refinement. Moreover, we often complain of workload, businesscompulsions or exams that make our obligations in Ramzan secondary andincomplete. This time Ramzan must be a life changing event as theadministration and authority in every town and city have stopped all the normalcourse of outdoor life. Also every ramzan we do not miss the last ten days interms of prayer and pious deeds. But this time around make the entire monthspecial. The night of power will certainly shower blessings but strive andsearch that night of light on every single night this time. This is the leastbenefit we can derive from the quarantine. The disease will fade away fromhuman life but it must leave us strengthened in righteousness and morals. Afterall accountability is for what we do with life and not for what happens inlife. The story we share with the next world must be not about a deadlypandemic that hit the world but how we battled it out with all civic ethicalsense. This ramzan stands in the midst of COVID 19 and awaits your action.

The author is Karnataka origin settled in Kashmir

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